Interviewed by Ying Shi over Zoom.

About Landon’s Role/Ongoing Projects
Landon is currently involved in a qualitative study that investigates the journeys of those who move into long-term care at the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living. Landon finds meeting and talking to residents and their caregivers fulfilling and educational. He is excited to see what knowledge he and his team members will generate from their conversations with them. Landon also has been managing data use agreements for the UCSF Pepper Center. The most exciting aspect about this is that we will soon be moving to a brand-new virtual environment that our statisticians and investigators can use (rather than having to store physical data). By speaking with residents and caregivers who have experienced the move into long-term care, they can generate knowledge for those who may be moving in the future. Having a virtual data platform will make it easier for our researchers to carry out analyses and, therefore, help them optimize care in research even quicker.

His favorite aspect of his position is that no one day is the same. As research programs coordinator, many research-based or research-adjacent items can come up - Landon likes that sometimes he has to think on his feet. 

What is a professional goal you would like to accomplish by the end of this year?
Landon's biggest professional goal at the moment is getting accepted into medical school.

More about Landon
What are you happiest doing in your free time?
Landon loves being active and/or outside. Some activities Landon enjoys are lifting, basketball, golf, and travelling to new places with his camera.

What is the best advice you've ever heard?
"Don't climb mountains so that the world will see you. Climb mountains so that you can see the world.."

What would your back-up career be?
Landon's back-up career would be ski-patrol officer or wildlife veterinarian.

Interviewed by Landon Haller over Zoom.

About Ying’s Role/Ongoing Projects
As a statistician, Ying supports PIs on various projects using different resources of data, such as VA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) data and Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data. Ying enjoys staying up to date with the latest developments and refining her skills to tackle new challenges for those projects. Those projects provide valuable insights into various aspects of elderly care, such as healthcare outcomes, treatment effectiveness, and risk factors for age-related diseases. They help identify best practices and interventions that improve the quality of care for older adults. Those projects also enable healthcare providers and policymakers to anticipate future healthcare needs, allocate resources efficiently, and implement preventive measures to enhance the well-being of older adults.

Her favorite aspect of her position is the collaboration with different PIs and diverse teams allow Ying to learn from others' perspectives while sharing her statistical expertise.

What is a professional goal you would like to accomplish by the end of this year?
A professional goal for Ying this year is to actively participate in more collaborative research projects within the division, providing statistical support and contributing to the interpretation of findings.

More about Ying
What are you happiest doing in your free time?
In her free time, Ying enjoys watching TV shows and movies to relax.

What is the best advice you've ever heard?
"The challenge comes to you because you are ready for it.”